A Rocky Start

Before you celebrate too much … The Bush administration has already set its sights on another drilling target: the Rocky Mountains. Dozens of petitions to drill on public lands throughout the Rocky Mountain states have been submitted to the White House, which has established a Task Force on Energy Project Streamlining “to expedite the increased supply and availability of energy to our nation,” according to President Bush. That’s great news for industry reps, who have long lobbied the government to cut the red tape and ease regulatory hurdles to drilling, but bad tidings for environmentalists, who fear the impact on wildlife and the land. The U.S. Geological Survey says there are roughly 137 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and several billion barrels of oil under public lands in the Rocky Mountains.